Speak and be heard

More sound, in more places

Despite being one of the senses, sound has largely been missing from the web due to inconsistent technology support. SoundManager 2 bridges this gap, making it easier to use audio across a growing variety of devices and platforms, both desktop and mobile.

HTML5 + flash hybrid

Complexity, reduced

Supporting HTML5 audio can be tedious in modern browsers, let alone legacy ones. With real-world visitors using browsers ranging from mobile Safari to IE 6 across a wide range of devices, there can be many support cases to consider.

SoundManager 2 gives you a single, powerful API that supports both new and old, using HTML5 audio where supported and optional Flash-based fallback where needed. Ideally when using SoundManager 2, audio "just works."

The ginsu knife: 12 KB

Big features, small footprint

But wait, there's more!

Performance is an important metric, too. SoundManager 2 packs a comprehensive, feature-rich API into as little as 12 KB over the wire when optimized; that's less than 8% of the original, uncompressed file size.

SM2 is self-contained, having no external dependencies, and is compatible with popular JavaScript frameworks.

The source code is BSD-licensed and is provided in fully-commented, non-debug and compiler-optimized "minified" versions appropriate for development and production use.

Basic

Playable links and playlists

These demos use unordered lists with MP3 links that play in-place; the UI is easily customized via CSS.

Creating and playing a sound object

Additional options and events can be specified when loading and playing sounds. For more examples of playback features, see API Demos.

Bonus

Additional demos

Examples using multi-track playback, progress and combinations of sound and animation:

Armor Alley: Web Prototype (PC-DOS game remake)

Armor Alley is a side-scrolling, real-time vehicle simulation / strategy game, originally released for the Mac and PC-DOS computers in 1990. This web-based remake is a tribute to the attention to detail shown in the original. Your goal is to defend a convoy as it moves into enemy territory; the game ends when a van reaches the opposing base. See the making-of for more.

SURVIVOR (Commodore 64 game remake)

SURVIVOR is a web-based remake of a Commodore 64 game. The goal is to shoot out turrets and destroy bases, while avoiding contact with basically everything around you. Sound was used creatively in the original, and it has been re-implemented in this modern interpretation. See the making-of for more.

Elsewhere

As heard on TV the internets

A few nifty places SoundManager 2 has been seen in use on the Wild World Web:

Credits and thank-yous

Music: Seven Or Eight Days courtesy of Adrian Glynn. Graffiti Sex courtesy of The Fugitives, from the album In Streetlight Communion. Let Me, LA, I Tried and People Asking courtesy of SonReal.

Additional experimental demo

The "Wheels Of Steel" started as a simple CSS prototype, and evolved to replicate most of the UI and functionality of a traditional DJ set-up. Pitch bending, scratch and EQ effects are present where supported.